MY PLEIN AIR SET UP AND PAINTING IN YELLOWSTONE PARK!

Today we went back to Yellowstone for our last day of the trip. We spotted a bull moose feeding in some water and a bull Elk with a large rack among other animals. Someone stops along the side of the road and everyone pulls over to see what is happening.

We stopped for a picnic and I set up my painting supplies. I was actually working from a photograph I had taken in Yellowstone the previous day trip of the incredibly beautiful thermal pools. This one was particularly chromatic. I wasn't thrilled with the painting, but it was a gorgeous day and sitting outside in the sun and fresh air was delightful.

I brought a very light weight chair that folds up. I particularly like this one because it has a back. I also have a small camp stool (also very light weight) that I used as an easel. I put it under the picnic table so it wasn't in harsh sunlight. I had the water etc on the bench of the table. I could have sat at the table to paint but this was more comfortable and I had all this stuff with me. The chair and camp stool were purchased at REI sporting good store. I think I have seen this chair in a few of the art catalogs.

The portable printer that I brought works fabulously!!! Beautiful prints relatively quickly and very easy to put together and use. It is by Canon the Selphy CP740. I think the CP750 has a few more features which I would have preferred but they didn't have it in stock and I wanted it immediately.

OLD FAITHFUL ERUPTION!

Tuesday we drove to Yellowstone National Park. What a remarkable place. We arrived just in time to see "Old Faithful" Geyser erupt. My camera has a burst feature. I thought it had a limit of 5 photos in quick succession but there is a setting for unlimited photos in burst mode and I was able to capture this marvel of nature as it unfolded by just holding the shutter button down indefinitely. WOW!!!! I have made a slide show for everyone. There were at least a thousand people there and we arrived a little late so no front row positions for us. I was able to shoot between people (as you can see). I didn't want to fuss with the images to eliminate these heads. With this burst feature, I am taking so many pictures my computer will explode if I try to download all of them. Will have to wait till I get home, but I can download selected photos. I will continue to post the next few days.

We took a very long walk around all of the thermal geysers and pools, some of which have the most amazing color. You can smell the sulphur. Later in the day we stopped for a picnic at a stream and I did a small plein air landscape. It's not much of a painting, but I will post later. We stopped by the road whenever we saw a backup of cars because this means an animal spotting. We saw bison very close up, a moose and calf half hidden by brush, some female elk (no great antlered creatures) and we are still waiting for a sighting of a bear. We did see an Osprey with a fish in it's talons in flight! That was exciting.